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April 28, 2006
Opens today -- but not in your city!
...the film has been banned in parts of South America because it depicts revolutionary Ernesto "Che" Guevara in a negative light.Despite my earlier enthusiasm over what was described as today's "opening" of the Andy Garcia's "The Lost City," I now find myself perplexed and puzzled to see that it isn't opening in the Philadelphia area -- not now nor at any time in the forseeable future. I'm writing this post on the opening day in the hope that frustrated movie goers (and maybe bloggers) might lend a hand. I agree with J.B. Spins that bloggers need to get behind it: The Lost City opens in New York (and White Plains), Los Angles and Miami on the 28th, rolling out to additional cities in succeeding weeks. It is well worth looking for. Since it takes on Hollywood sacred cows, like Che and Castro, this film will need word of mouth support. The film critics of the antique media won’t help. The blogosphere needs to get behind it.It's a shame so few people can see the film (frankly I find it infuriating) but Babalu Blog's review is probably the next best thing. It's remarkable that this film was made, but that fact alone is not going to guarantee distribution. Here's the list of theaters from distributor Magnolia Pictures's web site: 4/28/2006I called Magnolia at (212) 924-6701 to ask about Philadelphia, and all they'd let me do was leave a message in someone's box. (The email address is publicity@magpictures.com) Parenthetically, I should note that while it shocked me to see the right wing boycottliberalism.com announce a boycott of the film (it's still there, under "New Boycotts"), that view does not seem to typify the right wing. Here's WorldNetDaily: Poetic, dramatic and at times incredibly moving, "The Lost City" not only is a loving tribute to Havana and Cuban art and music, it is also a loving tribute to liberty, democracy and capitalism. Castro's regime is clearly portrayed as an evil dictatorship.Castro and Guevara portrayed as evil? No wonder it faces an uphill battle. Lest anyone think that only WorldNetDaily takes notice of Hollywood's peculiarly pro-Communist slant, here's the New York Sun: Perhaps it's because of vestigial bitterness over McCarthyism, but Hollywood has produced appallingly few anti-communist films. By some estimates, 100 million people have died at the hands of communist governments - by now it might seem that there are a few stories to be told about the dangers of an ideology other than fascism.That, I think, goes to the real underlying story of why Hollywood might feel threatened by the film. Because "The Lost City" threatens to lay bare the evil of Hollywood's enchantment with the monstrous Che Guevara, it represents more than an exposé of Guevara, Castro, or Communism. It's a (tacit) exposé of Hollywood. Such things aren't supposed to be shown in theaters. posted by Eric on 04.28.06 at 08:24 AM
Comments
I have no idea what they were thinking. (My email has thus far gone unanswered.) Eric Scheie · April 29, 2006 08:12 AM |
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I get the feeling the boycott group based their decision on the fact The Lost City includes Castro and Guevera. And since movies have praised the two before, The Lost City must praise them as well. It's a decision based on ignorance and venality.